Sliders!
by Black Dahlia666
Summary: One day the gang land in a new world: our world. With a feather here, and three sisters offering their assistance, they know that they are in good hands. But that doesn't mean that it will make their adventures any easier, or less hilarious. (Contains spoilers from volume 20)
1. Chapter 1

Sliders?!

Just a disclaimer: I do not own anything Tsubasa related, and anything from any other animes (should they pop up). Plus, I do not own Sliders (But I do love the show). I do not own ANYTHING! (except my crazy, writer mind).

The portal opened up, and Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona fell into a shallow pool of water.

"Oh great, nice place once _again_ to drop us off, pork bun." Kurogane muttered sarcastically underneath everybody else- again.  
"Mokona's sorry." Mokona said softly. They couldn't say anything else as suddenly three girls came running towards them with worried faces. One was tall, with just past shoulder length light brown hair and green eyes; she was as tall as Syaoran. The second girl was as tall as Sakura; She had reddish brown curly hair falling to her upper back, and had blue glasses, which complimented her hazel eyes. The third was just shorter than Sakura, and had chocolate-brown wavy hair that went to her waist, with light blue/green/grey eyes. The multi color eyed girl spoke first,  
"Are you okay? What happened?" Fai smiled, and said in a laughing tone,  
"We fell into this-" He looked around, and noticed it was a fountain, "fountain, that's all." They all looked unconvinced of that. Suddenly, the third girl had an understanding and excited look on her face, and bent towards them.

"Are you guys Sliders?" The boys gave her a weird look. Kurogane spoke first,

"What the hell is a "Sliders"?" Fai cut in.  
"What he means to say is, we have no idea what a "Slider" is ..." The girl gasped.  
"I'm sorry, my name is Dahlia. My tall brunette sister is Emeraude, and my other sister is Aqua. What are your names?" Fai smiled sweetly.  
"My name is Fai D. Flowright. This tall, dark, and brooding man is Kurggy-"  
"IT'S KUROGANE!" Kurogane yelled, but Fai ignored him.  
"The boy is Syaoran, this lovely girl here is Sakura, and this little creature is Mokona."  
"Hello" Mokona said.  
"Ahh, it talks; I've never seen a creature like it before. That must mean you ARE sliders."  
"Again, what the hell are these sliders that you think we are?" Dahlia looked nervously around.  
"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else, people are starting to notice you." Syaoran spoke up,  
"Where can we go then?" Dahlia smiled,  
"We can go to our house to talk, okay?" They looked at each other, and nodded. "Good, then come on, follow us."

As the boys walked behind the girls, Kurogane leaned closer to Fai.

"Hey Magician, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, we don't even know who these girls are." Fai smiled at Kurogane.  
"Kurgy, calm down. These girls seem quite friendly, and I'm sure that they can help us in our quest while we're here."  
"_Is_ there even a feather here?" Kurogane asked. Mokona nodded vigorously.  
"Yes, there is one in this world. Not very close though." Mokona's ears drooped.  
"Well, that answers that question. Mokona, do you know where the feather might be?" Fai asked, but Mokona shook his head. "Oh well, we'll just stay with these three lovely girls and find out as much as we can. Sakura and Syaoran seem to be having fun with Emeraude and Aqua." Fai observed, and just as he said that, Dahlia slowed down so she was walking near Fai and Kurogane.

"What are you doing back here with us, and not with your sisters and the others?" Kurogane asked coldly, and with distrust. Dahlia looked away, fearing that she wasn't wanted.

"I- is it okay if I walked with you?" Dahlia asked uncertainly. Fai cut in before Kurogane could say anything else that was insensitive,  
"But of course you can Dahlia, Kurgaler has a colder way of doing things, but you'll get use to it." Dahlia smiled warmly at Fai.

"Thank you, Fai."  
When they had reached a third of the way to the girls' home. Aqua moved next to Fai, and with Mokona, she asked Fai if they could talk in private. Fai accepted, and they moved far behind Kurogane and Dahlia.

"What the hell are they doing?" Kurogane asked gruffly. Dahlia shrugged. _'Whatever they're doing, I don't trust Aqua, she always does like to play tricks on others.'_

Just as Aqua, Fai and Mokona returned, Fai smirked, then he said,

"oh Kuro-puu, I want to tell you something." Kurogane grunted, then moved beside him.

"What is it?" Just then, Fai smacked Kurogane upside the head, and giggled. Kurogane growled. "WHY YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Just as he began to reach for him, Fai jumped away from his reach, and began to run away. Unfortunately, he ran right into the road- more specifically, in front of a car. Kurogane grabbed Fai's jacket hood, and pulled him back onto the sidewalk. Kurogane sighed, looking at the lithe man in his arms- he seemed to have fainted. Mokona jumped onto Kurogane's shoulder. Then Fai smiled, and opened his eyes. Acting all surprised, he embraced the tall man.

"Oh, Kuro-puu, you saved me, thank you so much!" Fai said dramatically. Kurogane muttered something, then dropped him. As Fai sat there, huge crocodile tears began to form. "Kuro, your such a mean brute, dropping me like that."  
"Yeah, such a grouch!" Mokona and Aqua chimed in, Mokona slapping Kurogane with his ears for good measures. "You guys are IDIOTS. And that girl is just as bad." Kurogane began walking faster towards Emeraude, Syaoran, and Sakura. Dahlia watched as Fai got up, then high-fived Aqua. As soon as that was done, they went back to walking to the girls' house.  
"Well, here we are!" Emeraude announced, and the travelers looked up. It was a good sized house. As they entered, they noticed it was all quiet.

"Do you live here alone?" Syaoran asked. Dahlia shook her head,  
"No, we live with our mom and dad, but they're on a trip for their anniversary, and won't be back until the end of the summer, so you can stay here for about two months." They all thought about that, as they continued on the tour. As they went up the stairs, they saw a hallway with five doors. One was at the far left of the hall, and opened enough to see it was a bathroom. The second door was light blue, with lots of swirls, and it appeared to have images of people in them.  
"That's my room." Aqua announced, and opened her room to them. In it, was a bed with a white and purple blanket, the rest of the bed was white- including a small head and foot board. Her room was a light blue- like her door- it didn't have swirls on the walls, but she had many drawn pictures taped to them. There was also a piano. A desk sat next to the bed; it was a light wood, and was covered with neat stacks of paper, a few plants, and a mini zen garden- a square box with white sand, a few crystals in it, and a rake beside it. A small bookshelf crammed with books was across from the bed. Kurogane nodded his head at how clean it was, Fai and Mokona liked the colors and drawings, and Syaoran was interested in her bookcase.  
When they were finished looking at her room, they moved to the next room. Its door was a dark green, and it made the newcomers think of a forest.

"This is my room." Dahlia said, and she began to open the door, but stopped, and looked at the group. "Just one warning for you guys: do NOT touch my collection."  
"Collection of what?" Kurogane asked gruffly, not liking that someone was telling him what to do.

"You'll see." Was all she said as she opened her door.  
Inside was a lighter green, her bed was metal, and the posts resembled thin trees, especially since the top had interwoven branches, and green cloth they could basically see through draped from them. Her room contained a desk with a laptop on it, a bookcase with just as many books as Aqua's- if not more, and a small end table made of dark wood, holding an alarm clock. What caught everyone's attention was like Aqua's room, Dahlia's wall were filled with decorations, but it was vastly different than Aqua's pictures. On her walls were several types of swords- short ones, long ones, even a few daggers, as well as a case for a bow, and an empty quiver. They could see that in the spaces that weren't covered in swords she had low shelves on her walls, and those were covered with plants.  
Kurogane whistled, and moved to see one of the long swords that had two dragons as its' pommel. Just as he was about to reach out and grasp it, Dahlia was in his way.  
"I just told you not to touch my collection." She said in a warning voice.  
"This is your collection?" Kurogane asked. Dahlia was taken aback by his question.  
"Yes, this is. Why?" Kurogane thought a moment,  
"Because it is such a big collection, for one as young as yourself. Are you trained?" Dahlia looked at Kurogane with respect.  
"I was trained slightly, but most people refuse to teach a teenager how to wield a weapon. What about you, are you a warrior?" Kurogane smirked,  
"Actually, yes I am. One of the best in my world." Dahlia smiled,  
"I guess then you can touch my collection, but you have to ask, and be very careful with them, okay?" Kurogane nodded. Emeraude then spoke up.

"Okay! Next is my room, then our parents room, then dinner time, and Dahlia, remember, we are ORDERING, you are not doing the cooking tonight." With a reluctant nod from Dahlia, they moved on to Emeraude's room. The door was a lime green with a rainbow E hung on it. When they went in, the walls were flamingo pink, her bed was a mess of pink, green, purple, and yellow colors- since everything on the bed was a mess. She had a low dresser that held a lot of make up, perfumes, a huge CD player, and piles of clothes; there was so much clothes that even her floor was covered.  
embarrassed, Emeraude moved them onto the next room: their parents bedroom. Their room was simply white, with a huge king sized sleigh bed, covered by red sheets and pillows, and a black comforter. When that was done, they all went downstairs. Emeraude snatched up her cell phone, and looked at everyone.

"I hope everyone likes sushi, because that's what dinner will be." Emeraude stated; Sakura and Syaoran both nodded reassuringly, Kurogane nodded once, but Fai was looking very pale and green.

"Fai, if you want, I can make something for you." Dahlia said soothingly, making Fai smile as he accepted her offer. Emeraude nodded, and called their favorite sushi place.

"Hello, I would like to order your B4 boat, and eight orders of tempura ice cream." Emeraude paused as a voice said something to her, "What flavors of ice cream? Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, green tea, red bean, or ginger, guys?" she asked them. Kurogane and Aqua ordered green tea, Fai and Mokona ordered chocolate, Sakura and Syaoran ordered strawberry, Dahlia and Emeraude ordered Vanilla. Emeraude nodded, and hung up. "Okay, food should be here in half an hour." Then Emeraude thought of something, "we really should get you some clothes from here."  
"And we still need to teach you about this world." Aqua said excitedly. Emeraude nodded,  
"Alright, this is what we'll do: I'll take Kurogane and Fai to get clothes, since we don't have anything that would remotely fit either of you. Sakura, Syaoran, will you be okay with borrowing clothes from Aqua and Dahlia; Sakura looks to be about Aqua's size- more or less- and Dahlia has clothes that would definitely fit you. If you're okay with sharing clothes, that is." Sakura and Syaoran quickly assured her that they were fine with that. Emeraude smiled.  
"Good, lets go Fai and Kurogane."

"I'm coming too!" Aqua called, and Emeraude reluctantly agreed.  
"Where are we going exactly, and how are we getting there, Emeraude?" Kurogane asked as Emeraude walked to a door that was not the front door. Emeraude looked at him. "We'll be going to a small store about- oh- eight minutes away. And we're going by car." Just before she walked out the door, she stopped; "And please, call me Em instead- it's easier."

Em placed the key into the ignition, and started up the car. She looked at Aqua, fai, and Kurogane to make sure they were buckled in, opened the garage door, and slowly stepped on the gas pedal, moving the car out onto the road. Once there, she started driving. After a few tense moments from Kurogane and Fai, they started talking to Aqua and Em; asking about things they passed and asking more about them. "So, how old are all three of you girls **Tonikaku**_?"_ Fai gave Kurogane a weird look, and Em's confused eyes were seen is the rearview mirror for a second- looking at him.  
_"Qu'est-ce que tu as dit, Kuro-puu?" _(What did you say, Kuro-puu?) Fai asked.  
"**jigoku wa nani desu ka?! watashi tachi wa amarini Mokona kara kore made idō shi te i masu! watashi tachi wa kore made iku no ni sare te i nai, to nobe ta!**" (What the hell?! We've moved too far from Mokona! You said that we weren't going far!) Kurogane yelled, not caring that no one would understand him.  
"**Odayaka na daun! watashi wa eran dara mōshiwake ari mase n, watashi tachi wa Mokona wa hito no honyaku sha deshi ta koto o shitte iru, sono ue, watashi tachi wa, kore made de wa ari mase n ari mase n deshi ta.**" (Calm down! I'm sorry, we didn't know that Mokona was a translator for you guys, besides, for us, this is not that far.) Kurogane had a look of astonishment as Aqua spoke his language fluently.  
"**Watashi o rikai suru koto ga deki masu ka?**" (You can understand me?) He asked hesitantly.  
"**Riyū wa i masu. Koko de wa, nippon to yobareru, to watashi wa, totemo yokatta node, watashi wa sore ga gakushū shi ta shi masu. Watashi wa chōdo watashi ga shitte iru nihongo wa kihon teki ni anata to onaji koto o ureshiku eran dara.**" (Why yes. Here, it's called Japanese, and I loved it so much, that I learned it. I'm just glad that the Japanese I know is basically the same as yours.) aqua said in an excited tone.

Fai was looking at the two with confusion.  
_"Maddy parla Giapponese, la stessa lingua sembra che Kurogane parla."_ (Maddy can speak Japanese- the same language it seems that Kurogane speaks.) Em said, and Fai smiled;  
_"Vous comprenez ce que je dis, mais je dois dire, votre langue est légèrement différente que la mienne."_  
(You understand what I say, although I must say, your language is slightly different then mine.)  
_"SO italiano, non vi sembra che conoscano il francese- similari, ma diverse."_(I know Italian, you seem you know French- similar, yet different.) Fai had a miscievious look, and faced Kurogane.  
_"Grand chiot, tu es tellement mignon!"_  
(Big Puppy, you're so cute!)  
''**Anata no riten ni kore o shiyō shi te ōru ! kare wa nani deshi ta desho u ka?**"(You're using this to your advantage! What did he say?)  
Em relayed what Fai said, then Aqua told Kurogane. Kurogane gave Fai a look of pure murder. Em started talking to Aqua in a quick flurry of their "English", to which Aqua nodded, and turned her whole torso around so she could look straight at Kurogane.  
"**Shi te kudasai, kuruma wa, EM konran sase te eru koto ga deki, kanojo wa doraibu suru koto ga deki mase n, kuruma nani ka hitto suru baai ga ari masu., kanojo wa kanojo ga nani ka ni hitto shi ta baai, sonogo, kanojo wa michi no sokumen ni mama ni shi te oki masho u to no faito o shi nai. Tandoku de. Matawa tabun mada yori yoi - kare to shi masu.**" (Please, don't fight in the car, Em might get distracted; she won't be able to drive, then the car might hit something; And she says if she hits something, then she'll leave you on the side of the road. Alone. Or maybe better yet- with him.) Aqua pointed to Fai- who was busy acting innocent.  
Kurogane gave a huff of anger, but did as requested, and thoroughly ignored Fai by watching the scenery on his side of the car; Asking Aqua a question here and there. Soon they had reached a huge building. It was grey with many red banners around the place.  
_"Quel est cet endroit?"_  
(What is this place?) Fai asked questionly.  
_"Questo è Cc negozio di vestiti; avremo entrambi di tre completi, uno per giorni caldi, uno per i giorni freschi e un extra. Ma..."_(This is Tors clothes store; We will get both of you three outfits; one for warmer days, one for cool days, and an extra. But...) Em began to think for a second, _"C'è una cosa che dovrò fare per Syaoran che Dahlia non è per lui: ."_(There is one thing we'll have to get for Syaoran that Dahlia doesn't have for him: a swimming suit.) Fai nodded, and after Aqua repeated everything for Kurogane, they agreed, and went into the store.

They walked to the men's part of the store, and Em began looking through the clothes. Soon, she had two shirts, and two pairs of shorts. Handing Fai a thin white t-shirt and light blue shorts, she showed him the change rooms, how they were used, then with a

_"Quando avrete finito, uscito modo che possiamo vedere." _(When your done, come out so we can see.) She gently pushed him in. She gave Kurogane a pair of dark green cargo shorts, and a black tank top, he went into his own change room as far away from Fai's as he could. Kurogane was out first, and everyone really liked his outfit. Fai soon after, and every girl stared at him. Em made an upset noise,

_"La tua camicia è troppo breve. Vuoi che me trovare uno più lungo?"_ (Your shirt is too short. Do you want me to find a longer one?) She began berating herself for finding Kurogane a shirt that fit him, but Fai's ended an inch or so from his waist. Fai just smiled politely,

_"non, c'est bien; J'aime cette façon de toute façon."_ (no, it's fine; I like it this way anyways.)  
They went back in, and Em gave them a new outfit. Kurogane was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, and a pair of black jeans with three buckles on each outer leg. Fai wore a black sleeveless t-shirt, and blue jeans. Em also bought a red with silver dragons swim suit for Kurogane, a dark blue with silver swirls swim suit for Fai, and a green swim suit for Syaoran. Finally they were at the cash registers, and Kurogane couldn't help but notice that the girls in this country wore next to nothing; they wore shorts that barely met the middle of their thighs, and shirts that showed a lot of the stomachs, or boobs. He then realized that Em was wearing a deep red dress with a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt ended just before mid-thigh. Aqua was more decent, wearing a light blue tank top with spaghetti straps, and a frilly black skirt ending just above the knee.

"**Chotto.**" (Hey.) he waited until she nodded to him, "**Koko ni subete no onnanoko wa, kono yō na, tokihogusu no fuku o ki te i masu ka? naze?**"(do all girls here wear such- revealing clothes? Why?) he gestured to a group of girls like that. Aqua thought for a second.

"**īe, subete no onnanoko ga nai. Daria wa omo ni kapuripantsu o mi ni tsuke te iru. Kanojo wa mata, amarini mo tokihogusu shatsu o kiru koto wa nai. Shikashi, fuku o tsukuru hitobito wa, sore ga 'sutairu' de aru node, sore wa kihon teki ni karera ga tsukuru subete de aru to kangae te i masu. Purasu no on'nanoko wa, sore ga hokanohito o hikitsukeru to kangaete iru yōda."**  
(no, not all girls do. Dahlia mostly wears capris. She also would never wear too revealing shirts. But the people who make clothes believe that it's in "style", so that's basically all they make. Plus girls seem to think it will attract others.) Kurogane nodded, understanding most of what she said.  
"we're done here. Time to go home!" Em said in English. They took their purchases, and walked to the car- only to find it raining. "EEKK!" Em screeched as she ran to the car. Aqua, fai, and Kurogane walked calmly after her. Aqua sighed, making both men figure that she did this often.

Quick Author's note:

Well, first chapter is done, I hope you all will enjoy this fanfiction as much as I enjoyed writing it. It also will get more interesting, and I'll be keeping a pretty tight updating schedule, about once a week (unless I'm feeling evil, and wait a week longer.) Also, for anyone that knows Japanese, or Italian, and I got something wrong, then I'm sorry; I used translator. I'm not good at French; I don't even know any other language except English (I've tried learning, but I suck). The only reason Fai's French is good, is because I have a friend that has a mind for different languages, and helped me with that part. So I'd like to thank Kidagurash for the French, and if anyone is completely upset with any of the language mess ups, maybe you could write it correctly, and I'll change it (I'll also give thanks to you). Anyways, have a good day!


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as they got into the car, Fai cranked the window all the way down, and stuck his head out, geting hit by the rain and wind. Kurogane looked at Aqua,

**"Naze jigoku wa mado no soto ni kare no atama o hari faidesu ka? Kare wa inu no yō ni furumatte imasu."**  
(why the hell is fai sticking his head out the window? He's acting like a dog.) Aqua told Em, and she asked Fai. He looked at them, then answered.  
"I'm not a doggie; Syaoran and Kurggie are the doggies. I'm just a cat that loves water. Plus it feels nice." everyone stared at Fai, not believing that they all understood him. "Guess we're in Mokona's translation bubble again." Fai said cheerfully.

When they got into the house, they saw Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona and Dahlia in the living room. Dahlia straightened up from the TV.  
"Oh, you guys are back. The food hasn't gotten here yet, and I showed these three around the main floor."  
Syaoran smiled, and the four saw that he was wearing a beautiful dark blue shirt with three wolves howling at the moon, and a pair of black palazoos. As Kurogane, and Fai went to change, and Em gave Syaoran his swim suit and began to explain what it was for. Aqua noticed Sakura was still wearing her normal clothes.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't feel right going through your stuff without you." so Aqua marched Sakura up to her room.

Fai came down the stairs just minutes after Aqua did, and she noticed that his hair was still dripping wet. Aqua walked up to him, her face reddened.  
"F-Fai?" she said his name nervously, which caught his attention,  
"yes, Aqua?" Aqua looked at the ground, twisting her hands together.  
"Can I- um- blow dry and- brushyourhair." she finished in a rush, feeling foolish. Fai was stunned a moment, but quickly recovered by giving her his most beautiful and warm smile.  
"Why Aqua, I would be honored to have you dry and brush my hair." With a squeal of happiness, Aqua rushed up the stairs, with a quick,  
"be right back." thrown over her shoulder. Kurogane walked up to fai.  
"Idiot, what do you think you're doing?"  
"Why Kuro- puu, I'm letting a sweet girl do as she pleases with my hair, what does it look like?" then Fai turned mischievous. "do you wish to play with my hair, Kuro- daddy?" Kurogane spluttered, and walked away, yelling,  
"why the hell would I want to touch your hair? And I am not a father!" Fai arched his eyebrow.  
"Yes you are, or are you forgetting lil' Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona? And now we have three more kids." Kurogane stopped in his tracks, and turned screaming;  
"first, the three girls are from here, they have their own family. Second, Syaoran, and Sakura are here, traveling all over the worlds, so they are mature adults in my mind. Finally, I refuse to let you play these idiotic games." and stormed outside. Dahlia had watched the whole event, and noticed that Fai had a stricken expression. Before she could say anything though, Aqua was racing down the stairs; hair dryer in one hand, hairbrush in the other. _'I'll let that go- for now.'_ Dahlia thought. Aqua plugged her hair dryer into the outlet nearest the living room's plushest chair. After she instructed Fai to plop himself in front of her, she had the dryer on, telling Fai to tell her if his head gets too hot. Dahlia, watched as Aqua dried, and gently brushed his hair. Fai seemed to enjoy someone brushing his hair, and saw Em watching Kurogane in the garden.  
"it's like the finest golden silk; no, it's even silkier than that. I love your hair Fai." Aqua said dreamily; Fai just smiled. When she was done, his hair was dry, and slightly fluffy- better than its ever been on the trip. Before Fai could get up, Aqua asked him something else.  
"Fai, can I braid, and put flowers in your hair." she asked as she played with a lock of his hair. With a gasp, Fai moved his head so he could look at Aqua, but winced in pain when he felt the hair Aqua was holding pull from his movements. Before he could say a word, Em was there.  
"Aqua! For goodness sakes! He is a grown man, and your a teenager; but you're acting like a little girl asking to play with someone's hair."  
"ohh, but Em, he's got the best hair ever." Aqua whined. Em gave her an angered look.

"you're acting like him when he's bugging Kurogane."  
"and you're acting like Kuro-"  
"Kurogane! He is an adult- show him respect." Em said before aqua could finish.  
"ENOUGH!" Dahlia practically screamed, looking first at Em, then Aqua. "Em, if Fai is okay with Aqua doing what she wants, then let her. You need to stop acting like that." she moved towards Em: "Stop acting like that towards Aqua just because you feel protective of that man." Em just walked away. Dahlia sighed, and looked at the other two. Aqua looked away,  
"it's okay If you don't wish for a silly girl to-"  
"no," Fai interjected, tilting his head, "it's fine. I have never had someone want to put flowers in my hair; I would love it very much. It must feel really nice."

As soon as they got into the car, Fai cranked the window all the way down, and stuck his head out, getting hit by the rain and wind. Kurogane looked at Aqua,

"Naze jigoku wa mado no soto ni kare no atama o hari faidesu ka? Kare wa inu no yō ni furumatte imasu."

(why the hell is Fai sticking his head out the window? He's acting like a dog.) Aqua told Em, and she asked Fai. He looked at them, then answered.

"I'm not a doggie; Syaoran and Kurggie are the doggies. I'm just a cat that loves water. Plus it feels nice." everyone stared at Fai, not believing that they all understood him. "Guess we're in Mokona's translation bubble again." Fai said cheerfully.

When they got into the house, they saw Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona and Dahlia in the living room. Dahlia straightened up from the TV.

"Oh, you guys are back. The food hasn't gotten here yet, and I showed these three around the main floor."

Syaoran smiled, and the four saw that he was wearing a beautiful dark blue shirt with three wolves howling at the moon, and a pair of black palazzos. As Kurogane, and Fai went to change, and Em gave Syaoran his swim suit and began to explain what it was for. Aqua noticed Sakura was still wearing her normal clothes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't feel right going through your stuff without you." so Aqua marched Sakura up to her room.

Fai came down the stairs just minutes after Aqua did, and she noticed that his hair was still dripping wet. Aqua walked up to him, her face reddened.

"F-Fai?" she said his name nervously, which caught his attention,

"yes, Aqua?" Aqua looked at the ground, twisting her hands together.

"Can I- um- blow dry and- brushyourhair." she finished in a rush, feeling foolish. Fai was stunned a moment, but quickly recovered by giving her his most beautiful and warm smile.

"Why Aqua, I would be honored to have you dry and brush my hair." With a squeal of happiness, Aqua rushed up the stairs, with a quick,

"be right back." thrown over her shoulder. Kurogane walked up to Fai.

"Idiot, what do you think you're doing?"

"Why Kuro- puu, I'm letting a sweet girl do as she pleases with my hair, what does it look like?" then Fai turned mischievous. "do you wish to play with my hair, Kuro- daddy?" Kurogane spluttered, and walked away, yelling,

"why the hell would I want to touch your hair? And I am not a father!" Fai arched his eyebrow.

"Yes you are, or are you forgetting lil' Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona? And now we have three more kids." Kurogane stopped in his tracks, and turned screaming;

"first, the three girls are from here, they have their own family. Second, Syaoran, and Sakura are here, traveling all over the worlds, so they are mature adults in my mind. Finally, I refuse to let you play these idiotic games." and stormed outside. Dahlia had watched the whole event, and noticed that Fai had a stricken expression. Before she could say anything though, Aqua was racing down the stairs; hair dryer in one hand, hairbrush in the other. 'I'll let that go- for now.' Dahlia thought. Aqua plugged her hair dryer into the outlet nearest the living room's plushest chair. After she instructed Fai to plop himself in front of her, she had the dryer on, telling Fai to tell her if his head gets too hot. Dahlia, watched as Aqua dried, and gently brushed his hair. Fai seemed to enjoy someone brushing his hair, and saw Em watching Kurogane in the garden.

"it's like the finest golden silk; no, it's even silkier than that. I love your hair Fai." Aqua said dreamily; Fai just smiled. When she was done, his hair was dry, and slightly fluffy- better than its ever been on the trip. Before Fai could get up, Aqua asked him something else.

"Fai, can I braid, and put flowers in your hair." she asked as she played with a lock of his hair. With a gasp, Fai moved his head so he could look at Aqua, but winced in pain when he felt the hair Aqua was holding pull from his movements. Before he could say a word, Em was there.

"Aqua! For goodness sakes! He is a grown man, and your a teenager; but you're acting like a little girl asking to play with someone's hair."

"ohh, but Em, he's got the best hair ever." Aqua whined. Em gave her an angered look.

"you're acting like him when he's bugging Kurogane."

"and you're acting like Kuro-"

"Kurogane! He is an adult- show him respect." Em said before aqua could finish.

"ENOUGH!" Dahlia practically screamed, looking first at Em, then Aqua. "Em, if Fai is okay with Aqua doing what she wants, then let her. You need to stop acting like that." she moved towards Em: "Stop acting like that towards Aqua just because you feel protective of that man." Em just walked away. Dahlia sighed, and looked at the other two. Aqua looked away,

"it's okay If you don't wish for a silly girl to-"

"no," Fai interjected, tilting his head, "it's fine. I have never had someone want to put flowers in my hair; I would love it very much. It must feel really nice."

Aqua put down the bush and hair dryer, and pulling Fai up, she and him went to the garden, where she picked many different flowers, and she created a beautiful waterfall twist going from one side of his head the the other. When that was done, and she had added a few hair clips to keep Fai's bangs from getting in his face, she gently pushed the flower stems into the braid. Kurogane- who was still outside when Aqua and Fai went out- watched the same thing Dahlia was: the content look on Fai's face. Kurogane had never seen a true joy filled look on his face before, it almost made Kurogane want to smile. When Aqua was done, Fai was shown off to everyone. His hair had several types of flowers: Asters, camellias, coreopsi, and crocus'. Mokona and Sakura loved it. They all decided to go back inside, and wait for dinner; Dahlia went into the kitchen, and the others went to the living room.

The doorbell rang, and Em ran towards it. Seeing it was the sushi man, she gave him the money, and he gave her a bag with two boxes inside. Fai and Kurogane came over to see what it was, and saw the food.

"where is Dahlia?" Fai asked, trying to think of anything other than the food.

"In here!" Dahlia called from the kitchen, and Fai followed the voice. She was in the middle of making flat dough things, and placing said small round dough into a cupcake pan.

"what are you making?" Fai asked curiously. Dahlia grinned.

"I'm making mini deep dish pizzas." she continued to explain when her explanation only made Fai look confused. "a pizza is a flat bread," she paused as Fai nodded; showing he knew about breads. "pizza has other things on it: tomato sauce- squished tomatoes, cheese, and any type of vegetable, fruit, or meat you want. Deep dishes are pizzas made in pie plates- or cupcake pans." she looked at him, "I was actually thinking of making a simple mini pizza; cheese, ham, and pineapple." when he asked what that was, she gave him a timbit of pineapple- which he absolutely adored. He watched as she filled the pizzas, then put them in the oven for 15 minutes. When that was done, she pulled out the pan with six mini delicious smelling pizzas. She asked how many he wanted, and gave him the asked for three pizzas. Handing them to Fai, she went to the dining room; which Fai followed.

The kitchen table was big; it could fit four people on each long side, and was a light color. It had a huge wooden boat, with several different types of sushi, and shashimis. Fai sat on the short side, his back facing the kitchen- and farthest from the raw fish. Kurogane sat to his right, along with Sakura, and Syaoran. Dahlia sat to his left, then Aqua, and Em. Mokona was on the other short side, between Em and Syaoran. Everyone was about to eat, when Aqua piped up;

"hey, who wants to do a wasabi eating contest?!"

Dahlia and Em sighed, Sakura and Syaoran looked confused, but Kurogane's eyebrow rose- he wanted to hear this. "Wasabi is this green powerdy- jelly like stuff that's realllly hot. Each person takes a sushi piece, put a little wasabi on, and eat it. First to go for their milk is out- we play until someone is last standing. Once you lose the contest, you can still eat sushi- that is, if you still feel like it. What do you say?" they all thought about it, Sakura was first to answer though,

"it sounds like fun. I'm in!" Kurogane was next, with a smirk.

"This could be fun. Who's the latest winner?"

Aqua smiled, Em and Dahlia pointed to aqua.

"I am."

Syaoran then looked at Sakura, and nodded his head.

"Count me in."

They decided that it would start at Dahlia, and go through until it reached Kurogane. Dahlia grabbed a piece of smoked salmon sushi, dripped a dab of wasabi on her piece, and ate it. The other sisters did the same, not even making a face. Mokona also ate some wasabi sushi. Syaoran did the same, and made a slightly surprised face; he then passed the wasabi to Sakura. She placed the sushi in her mouth, and waited. "it not so h-" her eyes widened, but she still swallowed. "It took a few seconds longer than I expected; I'll be alright Syaoran." she reassured the worried young man. Kurogane ate his piece with no change. They continued until the third round when the first contestant quit. Sakura had tried her best, but she soon after drank half her milk. Next was Emeraude at four; Syaoran at seven; then Mokona at ten; Dahlia lost at the 16th round. Then there was only Kurogane, and Aqua, neither willing to give in to the other. Fai made a comment that they were similar in their stubbornness. Aqua and Kurogane had now changed the rules, and were pouring the wasabi on their sushi, and eating it at the same time; they were on their 20th round, and neither were showing any signs of quitting. It ended on the 26th round; their sushi piece was covered with wasabi, and they each ate it, looked at one another, then- in unison- grabbed, and gulped down their milk. Everyone clapped; Fai looked at Kurogane,

"wow Kuro, you and Aqua are tied."

Instead of answering Fai, Kurogane looked at Aqua.

"hey, g- Aqua." Aqua looked up from Dahlia to Kurogane.

"uh- you did good. I didn't expect you to be so." Aqua smiled;

"I didn't either. I've never went farther than 18 in the contest. Plus I figured since you were from Japan, that you'd had more practice eating sushi, and perhaps wasabi."

Kurogane gave her a small smile, and nodded his head to her. The rest of dinner was uneventful, and they finished the sushi, and everyone had their ice cream. Once that was done, and Dahlia did the dishes with Sakura, they began to watch one of Dahlia's favorite TV shows ever: Sliders. They watched the first two episodes, where a young man named Quinn Malory, his friend Wade Wells, his professor from college Professor Arturo, and a singer guy -Rembrandt who was just driving in front of Quinn's house- are traveling through different dimensions, trying to find their way back to their home- since they got lost traveling, or "sliding" as they called it. Fai, Sakura, and Mokona were entranced by the whole show; Syaoran thought it was interesting; Kurogane grumbled about, "having wished he could of done this so he didn't have had to give up his precious sword."

Soon Sakura, Aqua, and Mokona were all yawning in concert. Dahlia stood up.

"time for bed." With reluctance from Aqua, everyone went to bed as they planned before; Syaoran and Mokona slept in Aqua's room. Sakura and Dahlia slept in her room. Aqua was in Emeraude's room with Em. Fai had the parents room with an aggressively reluctant Kurogane. They also had decided to change the sleeping patterns every so often. Everyone slept peacefully, hoping to be closer to finding Sakura's feather.

Kurogane opened his red eyes. Fai was sprawled out on the bed; having loved the softness of it last night. Kurogane had slept where he usually did: sitting with his back against the wall facing the door. As he got up, he watched Fai's calm face for a second, before he shook his head, and walked out the door silently. After using the washroom, he went downstairs to wait for everyone else, and was surprised to hear a light popping noise coming from the kitchen. Investigating, he found Dahlia at the stove. As soon as he was at the archway behind her, she turned to face him. Giving him a smile, she greeted him,

"good morning Kurogane. I hope you slept well last night."

Kurogane shifted his weight; uncomfortable with being asked such things.

"I slept well. How about you?" his question made her smile widen.

"Very well. Although Sakura seems to like rolling around in her sleep. I'm making breakfast for everyone: bacon, eggs, and French toast." she answered the question she could see in Kurogane's eyes. He stood there, watching as she made breakfast- since he had nothing else to do. Shortly, Syaoran came down with Mokona, and asked a few questions to Dahlia about this world. Fai came down soon after, and was already pestering Kurogane. "Kurgy, why didn't wait for me? Instead, you left me all alone in that huge room by myself." Kurogane looked like he was ready to kill Fai.

"Why the hell would I wait for you?" and they continued for a few minutes. Next was Aqua, who was astonished at how Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane were early risers. Kurogane pointed at Dahlia.

"the kid, Mokona, and the Idiot just woke up. I have been up for-"

"an hour." Dahlia said, cutting Kurogane off, but with her giving him an apologetic look, he continued.

"she was up way before me." Aqua just shook her head,

"D's always up at what- five thirty, six o' clock?" Aqua directed the question to Dahlia. She looked at the clock over the stove; it read 8:00 am.

"I've been up since six thirty." Dahlia said simply. Aqua rolled her eyes, but sat at the dining table. The room was quiet, then Sakura stumbled into Kurogane. Syaoran smiled sweetly when she entered the room.

And soon Emeraude came down, already wearing make up, hair straightened, and wearing another revealing outfit.

"when did you wake up?" Aqua questioned as everyone sat at the table.

"about half an hour ago, when D's cooking woke me."

At that moment, Dahlia brought out plates, forks, knives, and cups first. Once all that was set, she placed the pitchers of milk and orange juice out, and finally the three plates- one filled with bacon, another eggs, and the last was French toast. Everyone ate in silence, or making light conversation. As Dahlia stood to put her dished in the sink, she looked at everyone.

"I think we should go to the beach and have a picnic; what do all of you say?"

Kurogane was the first to answer,

"the only reason we are here is to look for the princess's feather. We don't have time to be spending time with fun." everyone seemed a little shocked about his words.

"that's what this outing is about." at everyone looking at Dahlia, she continued, "you guys know for certain that there's a feather here?" they all nodded, "but is it near here?" they shook their heads. Dahlia smiled. "in Canada, people either walk, bike, ride the bus, or drive. Since the feather isn't all that close, walking's out. It's not easy to bike- unless you already know how- but since you guys come from an ancient Japan, a desert, and a very cold world- I'm assuming none of you have ridden a bike. Buses can be full, and many other things, so that's out. The last option is to drive places. But none of you can drive- not without licenses. So Em can drive us places, since before you came here that was the plan anyways. Everyday or so, we'll go somewhere, starting slightly close, and progressing farther out. If we all go, then you guys will tell which direction the feather is in, and we can go that direction more. How's that?"

Everyone looked blankly at her; obviously never thinking about any of it in that way. Everyone agreed, and Dahlia went to do the dishes with Sakura. When they finished, Dahlia went upstairs to prepare for a day at the beach for just after lunch. She packed her dark green bathing suit top, shorts, her towel, first aid kit, sunscreen, and bag.

"what should I bring?" Syaoran asked.

"just bring those shorts that Emeraude bought you, a towel," she said, handing him one of her big plushie one,

"and a bag-" handing him a bag. She then began thinking, "hm, I think- just in case it gets cold- I'll bring a jacket." Dahlia left her room with Syaoran following behind her. As she went through the jacket closet, Aqua appearing, with a knowing look on her face.

"sis, what are you doing?" without turning, Dahlia answered;

"I'm getting a jacket, in case someone gets cold." Aqua grin grew.

"are you also bringing that first aid kit with you? I don't see the point." that made Dahlia turn, and she pointed a finger at Aqua.

"one of these days, you will be playing, and get hurt; then you'll be grateful when I fix you up." they went down the stairs together; Syaoran just watching everything.

"I'm just being prepared." Dahlia said in her defense,

"you are something starting with a P: paranoid." Aqua said as she accidentally bumped into Kurogane.

"oh, but I'm not paranoid. I just never underestimate anything. And I keep Murphy's law in my mind."

"who's law?" Kurogane asked. Dahlia jumped.

"sorry Kurogane, I didn't see you there. It's called Murphy's law: anything that could happen, can and will happen. So I prepare for anything, and whether something happens or not, I'm ready for it." Kurogane looked at her with something in his eyes, but was gone a moment later.

"well, I must prepare the picnic, and lunch; Aqua, we're having your favorite breakfast wraps for the picnic, as well as shake and bake chicken, salad, and a few other things."

dahlia then began making the food. Aqua explained to the confused men her food.

"basically the wrap I normally eat at breakfast, But since sis didn't make them, she's making them for dinner: a flat bread with a layer of nutella- chocolate, then peanut butter, jam, and sometimes even cinnamon spread. I think it's delicious." Kurogane looked at aqua with the words "sweets- crazed girl" in neon lights written on his forehead. Fai looked as if the idea intrigued him. As they finished, Dahlia came out, and lunch was ready. They had some left overs, and were finished fairly quickly; After Fai and Aqua did dishes.

They were outside the house, when Em opened the second garage, and she came out with a van. Everyone piled in; Em and Aqua in front, Syaoran, Sakura, and Dahlia in the middle, and Fai and Kurogane in the back. Mokona sat with Aqua, who was listening to Mokona tell her all about their adventures. Dahlia made light conversation with the two teens, and Fai was mercilessly tormenting Kurogane; Kurogane was tempted to just kill Fai now, and be done with it. Before he could, they stopped, and everyone filed out so Kurogane could get some space. Everyone gasped at the scene: the crisp white sand, meeting with the luscious blue water. There were almost no one else there besides them. As they took in the scenery, Dahlia pulled out a green bottle, and handed it to Aqua. With hardly a roll of her eyes, she opened up the top, and squeezed a white cream out, and rubbed it onto her body. Aqua explained to the confused travelers about sunscreen. When Aqau was done she passed it to Sakura, then Syaoran, then Fai, and finally Emeraude. When Fai offered it to Dahlia, she explained that unlike her sisters- she barely tanned, let alone burned. Kurogane was stubborn and said he didn't need it. Soon everyone was in their swim suits. Em was in a white lacy bikini, Dahlia was in a her green two piecer, Aqua was in a dark blue two piece. Sakura had borrowed one of Aqua's, but she thought the pink and purple bikini was a little showy for her; Syaoran told her he liked it, and she reluctantly was okay with wearing it. Syaoran, Sakura and Aqua made sand castles, Dahlia and Fai played in the water; splashing one another. Kurogane and Emeraude were left sitting in their beach chairs. Em looked over at a bored Kurogane,

"Kurogane, what was your world like?" Kurogane looked at Em for a moment; he looked at the beach.

"It was nice; lots of forests, villages. I lived in a castle, and protected the princess Tomoyo from assassins and such. We also had demons that tried to attack, but princes Tomoyo was also able to put barriers up like our priestesses and protect her cities from them."

"sounds like a relatively safe and peaceful world." Em stated casually, "did you have someone there? A girlfriend?" Kurogane looked suspiciously at Em.

"no, I don't." Em smiled,

"do you think I could travel with you?" before he could answer, someone called his name; it was Fai. Kurogane had never been so happy for the blonde man to call him.

"what is it?" Fai smiled cheekily,

"come play with us Kurgy, please?" Fai batted his eyes at him, making Kurogane get angry.

"no, not until you call me by my real name!" Kurogane shouted, and when he turned around, Fai was behind him.

"but Big doggie, I know you love when I give you those nicknames." the angry glint in his eyes told Fai to start running; he was correct, as Kurogane began to shout, and chasing him around the beach. After a few minutes Kurogane was covered in sweat. He stopped to catch his breath, and heard,

"AHHH!" Kurogane, Fai, Aqua, and Dahlia all ran towards Sakura and Syaoran. Syaoran was standing beside Sakura, holding her up as she had one foot risen so it wasn't touching the ground. Her face showed a lot of pain; Syaoran's showed worry. Dahlia quickly had Sakura sit down, and she inspected her foot. Soon she looked at Aqua,

"sis, get me my first aid kit." and she began asking Sakura questions. As she did that, she was looking around, until they heard a little, "ah ha!" Dahlia looked at Em, "could you get a small box and a scooper?" Em left.

"what is it?" Kurogane asked, worried for Sakura.

"She seemed to have stepped on a piece of broken glass. I need to clean the area, then I have to pull the glass from Sakura's foot; luckily it doesn't look deep." as she said that, Em and Aqua appeared; giving her the asked for items. After cleaning up as much glass as She could find- as well as explain how glass probably got there. Soon Dahlia had finished that, and started tended to Sakura's wound. Once that was done, she handed the box to Kurogane to throw into the car. She then lightly touched Sakura's foot, And Sakura felt a warmth creep into her foot, removing most of the pain.

"How did you do that thing." Sakura asked Dahlia after she was placed in a beach chair. Syaoran was sitting at her left, Dahlia at her right, and the others were playing beach volleyball with a reluctant Kurogane.

"what do you mean, what thing?" Dahlia asked, Sakura frowned.

"you touched my foot, and it felt better." Dahlia gave a little "ah" at that, and smiled.

"that was my energy. I was trying to make it feel better; as well as make it heal a little faster." at Sakura's amazed look, dahlia explained what reiki was. Sakura at first seemed to be confused, but she thought soon after that reiki was cool.

Dahlia came over to Kurogane after a few hours playing volleyball with the others.

"are you okay Kurogane? You should take it easy." Kurogane hmmed weakly,

"I'm fine." he said, but started noticing some pains in his abdomen that were there for quite some time. Dahlia made a noise.

"you need to relax, or you'll make yourself sick. You need a drink."

"I do not-" Kurogane was cut off by an angered Dahlia,

"you have cramps in your body, haven't sweated a lot recently? Dizzy?" at Kurogane widening his eyes as everything she said was true, she continued, "if you weren't so entranced by your boyfriend, then I would have come over sooner. You need water." That made Kurogane mad.

"that complete idiot is not anything like that to me!" he all but scream- which he would have if he wasn't so dizzy.

"it was just a joke." she said exasperatedly. "the point is- Kurogane!" she gasped as he started wobbling- and if it wasn't for Fai coming at the perfect time, five foot Dahlia was going to try and stop the over six foot man by herself from falling. Fai looked frantically at Dahlia.

"He's got heat exertion. I need you to help lay him in the shade. Em, please grab some of those electrolyte drinks in the trunk!" she called as everyone came over to see what was wrong. When Fai was done moving the tall man, Dahlia looked him over: he was still conscious, but he needed hydrating quickly. Immediately Em came back with several drinks. Dahlia took one, and opened it. Dahlia looked at Fai,

"Fai, hold Kurogane's shoulders. I need to make sure he can drink this." and as Fai did as told, she tipped the bottle to allow a few huge drops out and into Kurogane's mouth. He quickly swallowed, so she slowly gave his more until he was done the first bottle. The next he was able to drink by himself- though he still needed Fai to hold his up slightly. Dahlia gave instructions for Em and Aqua to get a fan and her towel.

"why do you not just get the stuff you want yourself, instead of getting others to do it?" Fai asked. Dahlia looked miffed slightly.

"because I'm the only one who knows first aid, and a first aider- myself- must never leave the victim who needs help. If I had left, and something bad happened, then unless there was another first aider- which there isn't-" she left the end open for Fai to understand anything could happen. Fai felt bad for making it sound as if Dahlia was being lazy, and quickly apologizing- even though he felt mixed emotions at the moment.

"how did he get heat exertion?" Fai asked quietly.

"first off, he didn't know about the strength of our sun- that's our fault." she quickly told Fai about pollution, and the ozone layer. "But it's also because he now has a sun burn. And with his dark complexion, and he didn't even drink any water, and he kept going- never took a break. None of that helped at all." As it got closer to dinner time, Kurogane recovered enough to stand up; Fai never left his side.

When everyone was hungry, Dahlia set out the picnic; they all enjoyed a nice home cooked picnic. Soon conversation started.

"Moko, are we any closer to the feather?" Aqua asked,

Mokona looked unhappy.

"no, Mokona senses that we have moved FARTHER from the feather."

"well, then next we'll go to that big park with the stream running through it."

"Sentenial park." Em recalled the park Aqua was hinting about. After a few moments of silent, Aqua shot up with a big smile.

"can I take pictures of all of you guys? Please?" Aqua gave her best pouty, puppy eyes.

"what for?" Kurogane asked suspiciously.

"I want to draw all of you. It would take too much time to have you all stand still for hours while I draw you; plus the sun is starting to set, it will be dark soon. All I have to do is take my camera, snap a picture of the group, a few pictures of all of you individually. Then when I get home, I will draw the group picture." she said happily.

"you should; Aqua is one of the best artists I know. After she can draw you completely, she can draw you without a picture." everyone looked at Dahlia as she said that, face red. Aqua giggled,

"yea, like that one picture of you and Hunter together, sleeping. It took a little bit, but eventually I was able to draw the two of you laying together- even though you've never have in real life."

They group agreed, and Aqua got up, and got ready. Emeraude left the picture. Aqua arranged everyone slightly; Sakura sat beside Syaoran, both smiling with a slight blush. Fai sat right next to Kurogane, smiling happily. Kurogane was looking neutral. Dahlia held Mokona sitting beside Kurogane. Aqua took the picture, then got closer, and took individual pictures of everyone- except Dahlia.

Once that was done, Dahlia noticed a chill in the air, and a nervous Syaoran came over to her as she was getting ready to go into the water.

"may I borrow that jacket you brought; Sakura's starting to shiver."

Before he could say more, she quickly pulled the folded green jacket out of her bag, and gave it to him, then with a grateful thank you from Syaoran, she ran into the water, bashing the waves.

Sakura wasn't aware of what Syaoran was doing, she was trying to find where they put her clothes and towel.

"Princess, you're freezing. Please, put this on." Syaoran extended his hands, showing a dark green jacket.

"Where did you get that?" she asked,

"I saw that you were cold, so asked Dahlia, since I knew she had a jacket just in case." Sakura smiled, and looked downwards. After a moment, she nodded, and he helped her into the jacket, and zipping it up for her. Blushing, Sakura grabbed his hand, and when he looked at her questioningly, she spoke.

"will you keep me warm as well?" gasping, Syaoran looked Sakura in the eyes, and saw that she was truly wishing for him to keep her warm, and that she was nervous.

"of course, Princess." he said reassuringly. He sat beside her; wrapping his arms around her, he gently pulled Sakura closer. Smiling, Sakura hugged him back; unbeknownst to them, everyone was smiling at the sight of them cuddling close together.


	3. Chapter 3

They got home late that night, and went to bed right away. For the next week they either spent going out- each time getting a little closer to the feather; some of those days Em refused to take them anywhere, and left them home alone; they spent those days usually watching TV. Aqua either drew, or would fix Fai's hair up. Today was one of those days where Em had left them to their own devices, so Dahlia planned a swim at the local outdoor swimming pool. After lunch, everyone was ready, so locking the doors; they set off to Laurel pool. They reached an intersection, and were waiting for the walk symbol. As they waited there, Fai heard giggling to his left, and looked over- and instantly paled. Coming their way, were two girls. Sisters. Twins. They had curly, just past shoulder length, red hair. They had brown eyes and pale skin with freckles on their faces. Turning her head slightly, one of them looked at their group, and ran towards them.

"Dahlia!" Dahlia looked at the girls, and she smiled. As they reached the group, the one that had called out hugged Dahlia.

Fai could see that they did have differences; like all twins did. The hugging one's eyes and hair were a shade lighter than her sisters, and she seemed more cheerful, and bubbly. The other was more stoic. "... Are you going swimming at Laurel pool too?"

"Yeah!" the girl replied to Dahlia's question. Kurogane cleared his throat, and the two girls look at him. With a gasp, Dahlia looked apologetic.

"I forgot introductions! Fai, Kurogane, Syaoran, Sakura, this is my friend Suzanna- Zanna for short, and her sister Rose. As you can tell they're-"

"Twins." Fai interjected, feeling faint. Dahlia looked worried at him, but didn't say anything.

"Zanna, Rose, these are Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai." after everyone said hello, they all continued onto their journey. Fai- even though he was shell shocked- listened to Dahlia's and Zanna's conversation.

"So, where's your boyfriend?" Zanna said playfully, making Dahlia blush, but smile too.

"You know he isn't my boyfriend, and where he is. Still isn't back from that forced camping trip with his father." Zanna made an understanding noise. Everything seemed to be normal. Fai could hardly believe that these two girls seem to live so normally.

"Fai, are you okay?" Sakura asked quietly. Fai couldn't help but slightly smile at her concerned voice.

"Why Sakura, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she looked at him, and he almost stopped walking,

"Because you're so pale, and you haven't smiled for a while." Fai looked around, and saw Kurogane looking at them. 'He must know I won't say anything, so isn't bothering to say anything himself.'

"I'll be fine Sakura; I've just never seen twins before. I've only heard about them." he lied, pulling a fake smile on. After a moment, Sakura accepted his words, and went back to Syaoran. They finally reached the Laurel pool, and stood at the cashier. Dahlia gave the girl at the counter six small blue pieces of paper, and they went passed her. Aqua and Dahlia stopped at two closed door.

"Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane; you three have to go change through that door, use the showers to get wet, and wait just outside the door near the showers, Sakura, Aqua, and I will meet you there." Dahlia instructed, and they parted ways- Mokona chose to go with Syaoran. The girls were done, and waiting by the boys' exit. Several minutes later, the three men finally came out, holding Mokona. Setting Mokona down, they looked at the pool. No one noticed when Mokona scurried into the pool.

"I'm going to the water slides first!" exclaimed Zanna, as she raced over to the array of colored slides; some small, some huge. Some regular slides, some with water going down as well. Fai watched Rose as she just silently went to the dive boards. Aqua then warned them about Chlorine, and how it can hurt the eyes, but besides some burning- usually after swimming is done- it was harmless. With that, they all went into the water.

Everyone was having fun; even Fai. Fai just loved the huge blue water slides, he would make Kurogane race him to the bottom, but he often times beat Kurogane. Kurogane preferred to just swim, or used a floaty tube to relax on- though he kept an eye on Fai after the Mage had splashed him, and almost made him go under the first time. Only Kurogane and Dahlia could tell that Fai was acting unusual. When the pool clock said that they had been there for two hours, and Sakura was getting tired, a bell went off. They all got out, and the group- plus the twins all walked together. Everyone seemed to be happy; even Fai seemed to have taken a liking towards Zanna. Soon the twins and the group said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Getting home, Dahlia went to the bathroom, and when she came out, she was holding a little bottle, and she was blinking rapidly. Handing it to Aqua, she made her way towards the kitchen.

"What is that?" Sakura asked, eyes completely burning. Aqua tipped her head back, and the bottle was turned over her eyes, letting drops fall into open eyes.

"These are eye drops. They're used to help ease the burning of the Chlorine. Wanna try?" Aqua offered the bottle to Sakura, but she didn't know what to do, so Aqua put the drops in for her, and left her be. For a second afterwards, Sakura's eyes burned even worst, but then it subsided. Sighing in relief, Sakura saw Aqua come down the stairs with a huge smile, and her sketchbook. "Sakura, Syaoran, Fai, Kurgy; I want to show you the picture I've finally finished!" Aqua said, with much excitement. Everyone gathered around her. Flipping her book open, everyone gasped at the scene they were met with. Inside was a beautifully sketched picture of all of them at the beach, just like how they were when she took their picture.

"It took quite some time, and you Fai and Kurgy, were hard to draw. But I finally got the scowl right, as well as the emotions in the eyes. I just don't know whether or not to color it. I think I'll do a copy, and then color that one. What do you guys think?" everyone agreed. Sakura thought it was perfect. Dinner took longer that night; it was homemade lasagna. While they waited, Aqua, Sakura, and Dahlia made flower crowns for Fai, Mokona, and Syaoran. Fai wore his crowns with pride. Mokona loved its, and Syaoran seemed to get a bit misty eyed before he smiled his thanks to his beloved princess. Dinner followed soon after, and everyone sat to eat. Fai refused to take his crowns off; even Syaoran wanted to keep the flower crown Sakura made for him. Emeraude finally came home, but when asked where she was, she simply said, "I was out looking for something" and no one bothered her.

That night Sakura was going to be sleeping with Aqua, Syaoran in Dahlia's bed, Dahlia would be with Em, Fai and Kurogane would sleep together again. Sakura after dinner fainted- a very startling action to the sisters, until Syaoran explained it to them, and placed her in Aqua's bed. Em and Aqua went to bed next. Dahlia looked over at Fai, and giggled. Kurogane looked at her, and when she pointed at Fai, looked. Fai was in the plushy living room chair; feet curled up, head resting on the back of the chair, flowers wilted, and strewn in his hair. Kurogane sighed, but got up, and picked the sleeping blonde with hardly a sound from said man. Kurogane and Dahlia then made their way to their respective room after a quick good night.

Kurogane was up first, and waited in the living room for someone- anyone- to wake up. Dahlia was up second, and immediately began breakfast: sausages, apple crescents, and pancakes. Em was up next; almost giving Kurogane a heart attack. She was wearing a red lacy shirt- a baby doll- the whole thing was made of very see through cloth, and lace. The only part not made like that was the satin bra part. Underneath- Kurogane could unfortunately tell- she was wearing the smallest, satin and lace piece of undergarment he had ever seen. She looked at him, and looked slightly freaked out.

"Sorry Kurogane, I didn't know you were up. I'll go change." she said.

"Yes, it would be best. The kid or the idiot Mage might wake any moment." Turning, she went up to change. Everyone besides Fai soon came down, and breakfast was ready.

"You guys can eat first. I'm going to wake Fai up." Dahlia said as she handed out the already made plates, and cups of juice or milk. They all began eating as Dahlia went up the stairs to get Fai. Just as she was next to his door, she heard something from his room.

"Mmm... No." she heard in a whispery moan; she knew right away that he must have been having a nightmare. Silently opening the door, she quietly called his name. When there was no response, she crept in the room more. Fai was sleeping on his back, the sheets thrown haphazardly, his head moving from side to side violently. "Noo, please." he moaned again, and she crept closer. She was right at the bed when his next words froze her in confusion; "Fai, please.." now he sounded like he was going to cry. She had an idea, and hoped it wouldn't end badly. She cautiously sat on the bed next to Fai, half expecting him to awaken any moment. When he didn't seem to notice, she moved so she up above him, and began shaking his shoulder- she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt when her hand met the skin of his shoulder. Not deterring her from waking Fai up, she lightly shook said shoulder.

"Fai, wake up." she said quietly, but as soon as she spoke, his eyes opened; for a millisecond dark blue eyes met light blue, then next thing Dahlia knew, she was being held by a shaking, sobbing Fai. Her confusion only lasted a moment, before she moved her legs slightly so she could be balanced, and hugged him back; stroking his hair, whispering soothing words to him, and she let her aura envelop him, so he felt safe and secure.

Fai had been having a dream about his past. He had been dreaming about his twin. He use to always have them, but after meeting Kurogane and the others, they were rare. He could only assume that meeting the twins made him think of his own twin- and their lives. Then at the worst part, he heard a voice, and opened his eyes to see blue eyes looking worriedly at him. He- without meaning to, threw himself at Dahlia; not caring for anything else. At first she was a statue- and he thought she was uncomfortable, but after feeling her shift, he sighed when he felt her embracing him, and whispering things he couldn't comprehend at the moment. The best was when he all of a sudden felt like he was in a warm cave. He knew it was her aura. He couldn't help but smile, had this world been more magically developed, and she had trained more- he knew she would be almost as powerful- it not more so- then him. He knew he had calmed down when Dahlia loosened her grip on him, and looked him in the eyes. He saw in her eyes the very thing in Kurogane's when he sees something best not seen. Fai smiled,

"My, quite an awkward situation you seem to be in." he said, getting the desired effect. Dahlia realized that she was straddling his waist, and she also realized that not only was he shirtless, he was only wearing a pair of boxers. Face redder than a tomato, Dahlia moved off of Fai's lap, but quickly her eyes held a determined light in them.

"You don't have to tell me, but if you ever want to leave the past behind, or just make it feel better, you can tell me. I know it's hard to do that, leave the pain behind, but you can. I won't tell another essence anything you said."

"Thank you, but I really need to get changed now; if you'll excuse me." Fai said quietly. Dahlia nodded reluctantly, and left. When she closed the door, a pale hand covered his blue eyes, and a dark, humorless chuckle escaped his lips.

"You also see what's best never seen, but you don't pry. And yet..." Fai shook his head, got up, grabbed himself some clothes, and then went to take a shower. 'I can never tell anyone about my past. I must never let anyone too close.' Fai thought, feeling remorse.

Soon after, Fai came down, and ate with everyone else. He acted as if nothing happened upstairs, so Dahlia did so too. When everyone was done, Dahlia and Fai did the dishes. Leaving Fai once the dishes were done, Dahlia excused herself, and went up to her room, closing the door. Everyone else went to do something. Kurogane was practicing his sword techniques in the backyard; Sakura, Syaoran, and Em went to get more groceries; Aqua began drawing a new picture, and from what she's said, it would be of Syaoran hugging Sakura. Fai went to the backyard, and sat in the warm sunlight. After opening his eyes, and seeing Kurogane practice, he decided to watch him instead. The man was deadly with his sword, but it also looked so beautiful; the gleaming sword singing through the air. Those were the words Fai associated with Kurogane; beautiful, and deadly. When he noticed Kurogane slowing down, he knew that he was going to take a break, so Fai went in and fetched two bottles of water from the fridge. Coming out, he handed one silently to the sweaty warrior. As he took it, Fai couldn't help but think about how when he went in, there was no noise. Fai felt guilty for being so cold to Dahlia- she who only wanted to help. With a quiet sigh, Fai got up, and went to check on her.

Standing outside Dahlia's door, Fai strained his ears to find if Dahlia was okay. He could hear tapping, but that was all. He almost wished he could hear more, but let that go, and opened the door. Inside, he saw Dahlia sitting at her dark wood desk, but she didn't turn around when he entered; didn't even seem to notice.

"Dahlia?" when she still didn't look at him, he walked right up to her. She was at her laptop, typing away, and she had a weird band over her ears, and back of her head. As if sensing someone behind her, she looked at him, and gasped. Pulling the band off her head, she looked at him.

"What are you doing up here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay; you ran up here so quickly, and it has been a few hours, and you haven't come down once. And..." Fai frowned slightly,

"I apologize for acting so coldly towards you this morning. I should not have done so." Dahlia looked at him with such an uncertain look.

"Are you apologizing because you actual feel bad for being mean, or just to make me forgive you? I'm not mad at you, I know I over stepped, so I'm sorry." Fai couldn't believe his ears, but she continued. "I know how hard it can be to let go of the past, and sometimes it can be gone for a while, and things bring it up again. But if you let it go, you can see new things; you can enjoy new things." she said quietly. Fai got the feeling she was talking from some painful experience, so decided to change the subject.

"What are you doing up here?" Dahlia smiled a small happy smile, and pointed to a white screen with black words he couldn't decipher.

"I'm working on a story, and listening to music." as she said that, she pulled a wire from the side of the machine, and music flooded the room. Clicking a button, a new song started, it said on the screen, "How it feels."

Fai couldn't help but dance as the song continued. Dahlia giggled, and Fai looked at her, quizzically.

"Sorry! You look like your singing and dancing to someone."

That gave Fai an idea, and asked Dahlia to teach him the lyrics.

As they got up to place Fai's plan into motion, he stopped, and looked at her.

"I really did mean what I said before; it wasn't just to make you feel better." and they continued down stairs; Dahlia shocked as she could have been.

Kurogane had walked inside not too long ago, looking for the lanky Mage. He had been gone for a while, and he wanted to know what made him leave the backyard. He then saw Fai and Dahlia walking down the stairs. Fai had a huge smile on his face, and Dahlia couldn't stop laughing. Then she pulled her IPod out, and after a few clicks, a song began playing.

Just like it's snowing in the summertime  
Something's different and I can't explain it  
It's like I'm breathing in sunshine  
It's taken over and I can't contain it.

This love is changing me  
It brought me to my knees  
Now it's teaching me to fly.

That's how it feels to be with You  
It's like I'm finally alive  
That's how it feels to be with You.

I always thought I was invincible  
I never knew that I was waiting on a breakthrough  
My heart was always only half full  
Until the moment that I finally found you.

It's everything I dreamed  
Even more it seems  
To fall into your arms.

I could never get enough of how it feels  
My heart can't deny how it feels.

Kurogane didn't know what to say. His face was flushed, his heart was beating irregularly, and he knew he couldn't control any of those, but he could do what he did best; yell at the Mage.

"What the HELL are you doing?! Dancing like a fool, with that- that song!" Fai looked confused, but Kurogane just rushed out to the backyard. When he sat down by the huge oak tree, he felt bad. He knew he shouldn't have taken his frustration out on Fai, but that dance had made Kurogane feel weird- he kind of liked it. He'd never felt anything like that before, and it disturbed him. Just thinking about how Fai looked, his face flushed with happiness, he looked- Kurogane shook the words that began to form inside his head, out.

Fai looked shocked, but when Dahlia tried to ask if he was okay, Fai just slightly smiled his fake smile. Making a snap decision, Dahlia gently grabbed Fai by his pale wrist, and walked him to the front door. Getting her shoes on, Fai did so as well, and without a word, they left the house. Walking a few minutes, Fai's curiosity got the better of him.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." she replied quietly, so he waited patiently. They reached a park in less than five minutes, but Fai barely got to see the scenery, before Dahlia was walking towards a big group of trees. They walked through, until dahlia stopped, and Fai looked at the tree in front of them. It was the tallest tree in this huge corpse of trees, and had many thick branches.

"This is my friends and my special tree. Zanna, Aqua, Hunter, myself; each of us knew of this tree. We had a different tree when I had more friends; we thought of it as our special tree. It had everything, seating, hiding. We all had a special seat. Vicki had the bottom, and then Amelia had the next one a litter higher, and across from Vicki's. Amanda had one just above Amelia's so she could kick her when she wanted. Then aqua had one more on the other side, then mine was above, and to the left of hers, Zanna had one right beside mine, and Hunter had one so high up that it was hard to see him. A while ago, they cut the tree down to create a little kids play ground. Shortly after Vicki, Amanda, and Amelia stopped being our friends." Fai understood why she was sad now, but didn't interrupt.

"To this day, I still don't know why they abandoned us; just one day they stopped talking, looking, or caring at all for any of us. They had been our friends since we were five, they were like my sisters. But not too long ago, I found this tree, and it's even better, more shade to hide in, bigger branches, and it won't ever get cut down, not in the middle of this small forest."

"Why was the old tree, and this new one so special?" Fai asked.

"When any of us are upset, or just need some alone time, we come here, and this tree will automatically make you feel better, like a friend that knows something's wrong, but is there and gives silent support. And even if you aren't upset, it makes everything better. Do you know why I'm telling you this?" Fai shook his head, and she explained.

"I know you have troubles, and I just wanted to give you a private place when you're here, so that when you want some time alone, you can come here." she said, and Fai didn't know what to think, he just wanted to have a few minutes to himself. As if reading his mind, Dahlia spoke,

"I'll leave you here to get to know the tree. Do you remember the way home?" after he nodded, she smiled sweetly,

"I hope you feel better." and she left him alone. He immediately began climbing the tree. He found a branch just right for him with a branch behind him good for reclining, and he began thinking. First was of his past, then his present. It then went to a worst thought; Kurogane. Fai knew that he had deep feelings for the strong warrior- he may have even been in love with the man. But Fai was conflicted, he wanted to be with the man, to have something good in his life, but he was afraid; if the warrior got killed somehow on this journey, then Fai would blame himself. Fai was always conflicted with Kurogane, when he had danced to the song, part of him was dancing for Kurogane, and the other was to push him away. He was always trying to push the man away- giving him stupid nicknames, acting silly all the time- that was all to make him hate him, so that wouldn't get too close to Fai. Then Fai thought about Dahlia and the tree, and began crying, silently at first, but quickly his tears became waterfalls, and wrenching sobs. Fai had sensed the soothing abilities of the tree as soon as he entered the trees, but the moment he was crying, the tree magnified that feeling, making all the negative in his heart pour out instead of stagnating inside of him. He began thinking differently, that maybe things could be better. Fai stopped crying. Curling up with the tree, he planned on sitting there for a moment, but his eyes became heavy, and quickly fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura, Syaoran, and Em were home when Dahlia entered. Sakura came rushing towards her in a panic.

"Dahlia, where is Fai? Kurogane said he hadn't seen you or him for a little while-"

"He's okay; we went for a walk to give Kurogane some space. He'll be back before the sunsets. Is Kurogane in the backyard?" as Sakura nodded, Dahlia walked outside. Kurogane saw Dahlia, and went to her.

"Where have you been?" he asked tentatively, and Dahlia could tell he was also wondering about Fai.

"I took Fai out so you could cool off some." she said with some hostility, making Kurogane's hackles rise.

"Hey, not my fault; damned fool was the one acting out."

"He was dancing, so what?" she said challengingly, Kurogane growled.

"He's always messing with people's emotions, messing with them." Dahlia just looked at him, while he cursed his mouth, for saying something like that. Finally she spoke,

"Fai would do nothing like that. Know why? Because I think- even though I don't know his situation- I know that bad things have happened to him. I can sense it in his energy; it reminds me of my best friend, he's had a hard life because of others. My friend's energy feels like a porcupine- all covered in sharp, pointy things to keep others out, but inside is a beautiful, warm fire. Fai is similar, he has a wall of ice surrounding his heart, with spikes on the top, but inside- which I have seen only a little of- is full of pain; pain for the past, and the present."

"What present, he only lives in his past." Kurogane retorted, making Dahlia cry,

"That isn't so, he does live in the present, but he's also afraid for the past to repeat itself. I can understand that." she said quietly. She began walking away, but said something before she went into the house.

"You should apologize to Fai when he gets here, you hurt him, even if he won't say it." leaving Kurogane with an explosion of guilt.

Dinner was ready when Fai finally returned, but he looked happier. Aqua had first freaked out when he got in, covered in mud, bark, and leaves, but once he got cleaned up, and Aqua got to brush his hair, he practically glowed with a true happiness. Dinner was a quiet matter, and their food was eaten quickly, and cleared just as quick. They then all went to the backyard, and spent the next couple hours doing everything; drawing new pictures, dancing, singing. Kurogane pulled Dahlia and Syaoran far away from the others in the backyard,

"Can we do sword training in the backyard?"

Dahlia looked excited, and nodded enthusiastically. Kurogane then called Mokona to give them their swords, and Dahlia's eyes widened, and then with a sigh, she walked a distance away.

"Hey!" Kurogane called, making her look at him.

"Where are you going?"

"Giving the two of you space to sword practice? Can I at least watch?" Kurogane gave her a weird look,

"If that's what you want, but if you really want to, you can bring one of your swords down here, and learn a thing or two." a huge gasp reached Kurogane's ears, and he looked at the wide eyed, happy, Dahlia. She then ran into the house. She was back before long, and Kurogane was taken aback by the sword she held. It wasn't her favorite twin dragon sword, like he thought it would be, or any of the fancy swords. It was a plain sword, with black worn leather wrapped around the hilt, and a black plain sheath. When he asked her about why she chose that one, she smiled.

"This one was hanging- like all the other ones. But this is better suited for battle, instead of a delicate, fancy thing. This one is well balanced for me, made of the most durable steel there is, and I have trained with this one most. In this world, I have nothing to prove with my sword, but if someone goes after someone I love, they better believe that I will defend my family and friends." she said so determinedly. Kurogane seemed to have known she would say that, so began drilling Syaoran and Dahlia on what to do, and then they began practicing on one another. Dahlia was as determined and hard working as Syaoran.

Night finally fell, and Syaoran fell asleep with hardly a thought. Morning came too soon for Syaoran, but he opened his eyes to the blinding light anyways. Getting out of bed, getting ready, he went down stairs. Whop. Whop. Syaoran heard a sound, and followed it out to the backyard, where he saw Dahlia with her back to him, facing a round target. She began to walk to the target, and he saw she was holding a white bow, and she was pulling arrows from the target- all five of them hit the inner two circles of the target. When that was done, she turned around, and looked surprised to see Syaoran watching her.  
"So, you do archery? Impressive."  
"Yeah, I'm a well-rounded person." she said simply, when Syaoran got a good look at her bow. It was a pale wood, with many beautiful designs carved into the limbs. He then went into archeologist mode,  
"what is this made of? Who made this? It doesn't look too old. It must be very special."  
"It is special. It isn't that old, it's made of white birch, and it was made by my friend; Hunter." she said with a content smile, making Syaoran say off-handedly as he get a closer look,

"He must be very special to you." he didn't see her put her head down, but he did hear her quiet words, and they froze him in place,

"He is; he's my most important person." she said with a longing tone, as if- Syaoran shook his head, acting as if he didn't hear her the first time, she said in a louder voice, "he's my best friend, we've known one another for five years." he made a noise of acceptance, and helping Dahlia, they put all of her archery equipment away.

The next three days went in a blur; they ate, hung out, tried to find Sakura's feather- which they were slowly getting closer to- and practicing with swordplay. One day Fai suggested another picnic. Everyone agreed, so Fai, Sakura, and Dahlia were seen in the kitchen the next day; making cheese crusted mini pizzas, and sugar cookies, and chocolate twinkles. Syaoran, Kurogane, and Aqua just sat, watching some Sliders; they really liked the show. When the trio was done cooking, they went to watch the show as well. This episode was about falling in a world where dinosaurs were alive, and protected. Quinn and his friends had to survive. Kurogane and Fai were astonished to find these creatures had actually lived, but a meteor killed them all off.  
"Hyuu, that would be interesting, wouldn't be, Kuro-woffie?" Kurogane grounded his teeth,  
"I guess it would be interesting." he said after yelling. Soon Em got home, and everyone was preparing to walk to the park. Fai was done first, so decided to go ahead.  
"Are you sure?" Aqua asked worriedly, Fai just smiled charmingly at her,  
"Of course, I know where to go, and I won't go far." after some hesitation, she let him go.

Sighing in relief, Fai made his way from the busy streets of the city. He got many looks from women, and even a few from some men. Fai looked around, and his mind went blank; across the street was a young girl with blond hair, and brown eyes. It was this world's Chi. He also noticed some men herding her into an alleyway. Fai decided to follow them.  
"Leave me alone; go away. Help!" Chi cried.  
"No one's gonna help you here, Girlie." one of the men said, Fai saw them try to grab Chi.  
"Let her go." he said calmly, and everyone turned towards him.  
"Looks like pretty girl here has a pretty boy, heh? Let's show him not to mess with us." They began to advance, but Fai jumped over the group of men, and began kicking them to the ground.  
"Go now." he told Chi. She nodded,  
"Thank you." she said as she ran. With a smile Fai said faintly,  
"You're welcome, Chi." The men began getting up, spitting insults out at Fai. As they began advancing, Fai jumped backwards. Just as he landed, something happened that he'd never encountered before; his foot landed on top of a metal can, and as it rolled out from under his foot, he hit the ground. Groaning, he pushed himself up, feeling the throbbing in his head where it hit the cement. Looking, the men were surrounding him, and the leader- a slight distance from him- had a small gun pointed towards him. He couldn't get up and jump fast enough, and even if he could, he was trapped.  
"Say goodbye." the man said as he cocked the gun at Fai.

"Where did Fai go?" Aqua asked, waiting outside the front door.  
"He couldn't have gone far; let's go." Dahlia said, but as soon as she took a step, her eyes widened, and she gasped.  
"Dahlia, wha-"  
BANG!  
"What was that?" Em asked, but before anyone could answer, Dahlia began to run.  
"I have a bad feeling. Kurogane come on!"  
Kurogane- not sure why, began following Dahlia, both in a dead sprint, and everyone followed slowly. The bad feelings seeped into everyone else.

(Sorry for a short chappie, I intended it to be a cliff hanger, and I didn't know what else to put in. So now I have one thing to say: *sobbing and cowering* please don't kill me! If you kill me, you'll never see what happens next.)


End file.
